Guardian
by heartofstone15
Summary: Fate is a funny thing. It often surprises us when we least expect it.maybe zadf, not sure right now. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

It was again one of the rare times that Zim had to sleep. It was a dangerous time for Zim especially with an entire planet of enemies waiting for him to drop his guard. Well, most of the planet was too blind to realize that he was there. The only real danger was one boy that no one ever believed but was right about most things.

Never the less, Zim had to step up all security before he put himself into sleep mode. After all that was done, he went to his lab, sat in his curved, segmented chair, and shut himself into sleep mode.

Zim never had dreams and he was surprised that night. A message played through his head and was permanently downloaded into his PAK. It told him what he had to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Dib waited, hidden, for Zim to come to skool the next day. He had tried to bust into the alien's house that night but his enemy had stepped up the security. Dib knew he was planning something.

"Hey, look who we found hiding in the bushes," a familiar and threatening voice shocked Dib out of his concentration. "Looking for bigfoot, stupid?"

Dib cautiously turned to see Torque Smacky and his gang waiting behind him. "Hey, Torque."

The larger boy punched him in the gut, guffawing. "Stop escaping from the Crazy House, freak! It's where you belong!"

Dib saw Smacky's fist pull back for another punch, but, in a green blur, a gloved hand stopped it without any apparent unease. Zim glared at the bully before crushing his fist. Torque shrieked in pain. Releasing it, Zim turned to face the surprised Dib, whom was still knocked over on the ground. The disguised alien held out a hand to help him up.

"I know you're up to something, Zim!" Dib ignored the help of his foe and brushed himself off. "I won't fall for your tricks that easily!"

The alien simply shrugged and left for Ms. Bitters's class.

During lunch, Dib voiced his observations to Gaz. "Zim's been weird today, Gaz. He stopped Smacky instead of laughing as I get beaten up and not once today has he made fun of my head, even when I called him an alien! And look now! He's staring at me from across the lunchroom! He hasn't even ranted about ruling us all at all today! He's planning something, I just know it."

"Why don't you just ask him about it?" Gaz said, hoping to get rid of her annoying brother.

"I tried that once before, remember? He laughed at me and sent his robot after me! I'm still finding chunks of waffle everywhere! No, I'll just have to spy on him tonight to find what he's really up to."

Gaz tuned her brother for the rest of lunch.


	3. Chapter 3

The only way from Dib's house to Zim's involved going through a bad neighborhood. One could tell that convicts lived here by merely looking at the condition of the houses. All looked like soggy bread and had the paint job of bread, too. Dib was glad that he had long ago learned the safest ways through it.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean that they were fool-proof. Dib was slammed against the wall by some knife wielding maniac. The mugger wanted money but Dib didn't exactly carry it everywhere.

"Blood so sweet, wants to come out and stain the ground!" the weirdo muttered.

As Dib prayed to God that Zim wouldn't take over the world while he was dead, the boy saw an eerie pair of glowing red eyes. A bolt of blue shot out from the night and vaporized the knife that was centimeters from tearing Dib's very flesh.

The mugger turned around in both anger and surprise. "What the hell?"

A growl rippled through the night, scaring the would-be murderer away and causing Dib to cower at the newer threat. To his surprise, though, out of the shadows stepped Zim, who was busy adjusting his wig. Dib's mouth gapped.

"What's wrong with you today, Zim!" Dib finally shouted. "You've saved my life twice in one day on purpose!"

"I don't like it either, pig-filth, but I have no choice," Zim motioned to follow him.

"What does that mean, scum?"

Zim turned and glared at his nemesis. "It has been permanently downloaded into my PAK to protect you! You, unfortunately, learned what that means the day you knocked it off and stole it. Both of us nearly died because you were curious!"

Dib returned the glare. "Tell me why it has been downloaded. And why you are answering my questions instead of dismissing them like usual."

Zim sighed, exasperated. "The apocalypse is coming, Dib-worm. You need to survive for some reason. I'm answering these only because that's been downloaded, too."


	4. Chapter 4

Dib stumbled backwards in shock. "What?"

Zim yelled into the sky. "Stupid humans! The universal apocalypse is coming. Grind that into your brain. You are not supposed to die because you have to do something important! I have to keep you alive even if my own life is at stake! Neither of us can help it."

"Why are you supposed to protect me? All you've wanted to do since you got here was destroy all mankind!"

"According to the legend, I'm the best suited to the job."

Dib blinked in confusion. "Your kind never seemed like the type to make up legends."

The alien rolled his contacted eyes. "Not anymore, now that all our history has been downloaded into our PAKs. Before was different. Anyway, you have to go back to your shelter unit."

Dib looked at his watch and realized that Zim was right. Quickly he headed home, pondering all the Irken had told him and wondering if it was true.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few days were uneventful. Dib and Zim still looked at each other with disgust, though Zim did save Dib from being mauled by the kids at skool. It wasn't until a new hid arrived in Ms. Bitters's class did things start getting weird.

Her name was Lex. She was pretty and sat between Dib and Zim. From the moment she stood in the doorway, Lex made Zim uneasy. He kept twitching and glancing at her.

During lunch, Zim sat by Dib and Gaz, raising many eyebrows. Had the two enemies finally become friends?

"What are you doing here, Zim?" Dib hissed under his breath.

"Sitting and following my programming," Zim eyed Lex.

Dib sighed, disbelieving. "Not this weird apocalypse thing again! Why on Earth would an Irken bent on concurring planets need to protect me for?"

Zim leaned in and whispered so that only Dib could hear. "Don't say that out loud. She'll hear you. And I already told you. You need to survive for some reason. I don't know why. My PAK won't tell me yet."

"Why shouldn't Lex hear? She seems nice enough to me."

Zim growled at the human. "You liked Tak too, if my memory files haven't malfunctioned yet. The program is telling me to beware of the Lex."

Dib rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. It's not like she's going to kill me or anything."

The alien grabbed the scythe-haired boy's collar and snarled, "She may very well have been sent for that purpose. You have enemies throughout the universe now. Remember that and this, Dib-worm. I am going to protect you whether you agree with me or not."

"Fine! Just tell me all about this apocalypse thing after skool. Deal?"

"Deal."


	6. Chapter 6

Zim sat, arms folded, in Dib's room. Apparently the kitchen was too open.

"So, tell me everything you know about the apocalypse, the legend-thing, everything," Dib said, pacing about his room just because he felt that he should be doing something.

Zim sighed and began. "Long before the PAK was invented and used, there was a legend among the Irkens that a select few were guardians. We were meant to protect those who were supposed to have a purpose dealing with the apocalypse of the universe itself. Heh. Ironic, isn't it, that we wanted to control the universe.

"Anyway, the guardians would be somehow pulled toward the one they were supposed to guard. The guardian would be the most perfect match for the one they would be protecting. Their skills would be put to most use guarding whatever they were supposed to guard. This was critical because naturally something with evil plans that would somehow lead to the apocalypse would find out what they needed to destroy in order to succeed such plans. The guardian would learn what to do and where to go and who to guard exactly when they would have enough time to find said person so that they could keep them safe.

"The legend also says that the apocalypse will nearly destroy the entire population of the universe somehow yet those that are guarded will have a mate that will also be guarded. Therefore, we know that your filthy race will survive, Dib-smell. I have recently detected an Irken spacecraft entering Earth's atmosphere and am trying to contact her. I know she's a female because that's in the legend too. The guardian will be the same sex as the one they are guarding.

"The program tells the guardians everything they need to know. From what to do to facts about their guarded. For example, I know that you lost your mother unit in a lab accident, you were what humans call a 'test tube baby', and you were abducted when you were a smeet causing your interest in the paranormal studies. Creepy? I agree.

"The apocalypse is coming and it cannot be stopped. This is the only thing we can be sure of."


	7. Chapter 7

Dib sat in silence, thinking. Questions still flashed through his head. His brain short circuited briefly so he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"How do I know that this isn't some elaborate plan to get me to trust you?"

Zim raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "Why would I save you if I wanted you dead?"

Dib pouted. "Fine. But what does Lex have to do with all this?"

"She is marked as an enemy by the guardian program," Zim pulled out a communicator. "Gir! Come to the Dib-monkey's house now."

The sound of a jet was heard and a green dog hit the window. Zim calmly opened it and watched the disguised robot clamber into the dark room, where he immediately sat on the floor.

"Gir, stay with the Dib," Zim ordered and climbed out the window, shutting it firmly behind him.

"Oh God," Dib groaned, hoping that the robot would remain sitting and not get any ideas.


	8. Chapter 8

Zim had to find the other Irken Guardian on Earth. He knew very little about the old Irken legends and he needed to know more about the Guardian Program. There was only so much that his PAK would tell him.

Again he checked the monitor that allowed him to see the Dib human. Though he would still wish ill luck on the human pest, Zim's new programming forbid him from allowing any physical harm to befall the human filth. No doubt the Dib still wanted to see him gutted over an autopsy table but he hadn't done anything to harm the Irken yet.

There. A blip on the monitor. Irken technology was in another location on Earth besides Zim's base and all the stuff in Dib's house. It was very far away, though. He would have to bring the Dib-stink with him. Quickly, Zim downloaded the location into his PAK.

Time to return to the Dib's house. They would leave in the morning.

**Okay, vote for who should be the other guardian on my new poll!**


	9. Chapter 9

Gir didn't move at all. The robot just sort of sat there with a happy look on his face in the middle of Dib's room. It was kind of creepy, but at least the automaton wasn't messing up his room.

Dib turned on his computer. He didn't trust Zim. He never did. That is why he was always the first to backstab the other during the rare times they had formed a truce. Dib had learned that you couldn't trust anybody.

The boy looked at the video from one of his spy cameras at Zim's base. It showed Zim looking at a monitor. It suddenly showed a red blip and the Irken excitedly sent a tentacle from his PAK into the computer then left.

"You don't trust your Guardian?" a voice behind him tsked. "Such a pity. He can't be anything accept truthful to you."

Dib turned, holding a piece of furniture as a weapon, and saw an open window, a mysterious figure, and the torn remains of Gir.

"Who are you?"

The creature chuckled at his evident fear and pounced.


	10. Chapter 10

Something was wrong. Zim could feel this. His spider legs zipped out of his PAK and he sped towards Dib's house.

He clambered to the window opened to Dib's room and saw a dark figure knock the lamp out of Dib's hands and rake it's claws over him, drawing blood.

His programming went into overload. The creature stopped attacking the Dib and turned to see Zim's glowing red eyes. It squeaked and attempted to flee, only barley missing the Irken's wrath. As soon as the creature was gone, Zim's eyes returned to normal and he approached the shaking Dib calmly.

"You see what I mean about enemies now, don't you Stink-meat?" Zim smirked. "Now stop cowering and recharge. We're finding the other Guardian in the morning."

Dib brushed himself off. "I was not cowering."

"Mhmm. Yeah. Sure. Whatever," Zim said quickly, distracted by the state his robotic companion was in.

Dib flopped onto his bed after going to the bathroom to brush his teeth and put Membrane's cure-all ointment on the scratches the creature gave him. Surprisingly quickly for one who's former enemy was in the same room, Dib was in a deep sleep.

Hours later, Gir, fully functional again, snuggled close to the boy and went into sleep mode. Zim watched the two for a few seconds thoughtfully.

Humans appear very peaceful when asleep, he thought before going into stand-by mode.

**Last chance to have any say on who the female Guardian is! Vote before it's too late. Come on! Vote or I'll be annoying!**


	11. Chapter 11

"The Irken technology signal is coming from this area," Zim said, looking up from the device in his claws.

They were in the middle of a large city. Buildings loomed and people glared at them for stopping in the center of the sidewalk.

"Can't you pinpoint the location a little better?" Dib asked, holding onto Gir's leash. "This place is huge!"

"Irken tech is designed to broadcast a low signal over a wide, irregular range so that the invaded species cannot find the base," Zim growled. "Even Irken tech can't pinpoint other Irken tech. If the enemy had any Irken-made equipment, you wouldn't want them finding you to torture. It's far superior to anything Earth-made."

"That doesn't help us now," Dib scowled at the ground.

"Then we should go to plan B," Zim stated, entering something into the device in his hands. "Finally!"

"What?"

"Another Irken's PAK signature is coming from a building not too far from here," the alien explained. "This way!"

"Wait! Wouldn't another species just follow the pack signature to find the Irken?"

"Of course not! Normally we cloak the PAK's signature, but humans are obviously not threatening to find us with technology so inferior!"

"Taquitos! I need me some taquitos!" Gir shouted.

"Advanced, yeah right," Dib muttered, looking at Gir.

The two arrived in front of a fancy looking school. Girls in white uniforms milled around the yard.

"Hey look, private schools actually spell correctly," Dib pointed to the letters on the building.

"'Private' school?" Zim's non-existent eyebrow rose. "What is so private about it?"

"Well private schools only let people who can pay a certain fee in," Dib explained. "This one's an all girl school."

"So humans divide themselves by gender and wealth. Why would they do that?"

Dib shrugged. "I've heard private schools give a better education then public schools, but that doesn't mean only the wealthy go to private schools. You've seen how our skool is. Some parents struggle to get their kids into schools like these."

"Why would education centers be kept underfunded?" scoffed the alien.

"I…don't know."

Zim chuckled. "Inferior pig-smellies."

"Hey, what are you two doing out of school?" a voice said near them.

The boys turned to see a brown haired girl in the private school's white uniform about Dib's age eyeing them curiously.

"Umm …" Dib began but was interrupted by Zim.

"Nothing that you can possibly comprehend, worm baby," Zim glared. "Mind your business."

The girl's brow furrowed in concentration at the Irken, but soon turned back toward a table under the shade of a tree.

"You're different," she said over her shoulder. "Just like Tak."

"Tak?" the two boys said in unison.


	12. Chapter 12

After the girl's school let out, she met them just outside the gate with someone neither thought they would see again.

"Tak," Zim glared at the disguised Irken.

"Zim," she returned the glare.

"Gir!" cheered the robot.

"Oh good, you know each other," chuckled the brown haired girl. "Now explain everything. I'm supposed to be home soon."

"We used to go to the same school," Tak smirked. "Zim thought I had a crush on him."

"You tried to steal my mission!" the enraged male pointed at the disguised Irken.

"You didn't have a mission! The Tallest lied to you!"

"Lies!"

The girl watched for a while, bored, then pulled out a notebook and began to write. Dib approached her.

"Hi, I'm Dib," he held out his hand.

"Lil," answered Lil, looking up from her notebook. "Do they always fight like this? Those two are like a married couple."

"I donno," he shrugged. "They're aliens, you know."

"Really? Cool," she turned back to writing. "You had a crush on her, didn't you?"

Dib blushed. "No! Why would you say that?"

"Cause you're blushing now and the way you're looking at her," Lil chuckled. "She broke your heart, by the looks of it."

Dib scuffed his foot in the dirt. "It doesn't matter. She tried to destroy the planet."

Lil looked at him. "Of course it matters. You loved someone who could not love back. You couldn't see what she was so you trusted her when you shouldn't have. That sort of thing affects people and it matters."

Gir suddenly came up and hugged the girl on her leg. "I like you."

Lil giggled, picking up the robot. "You're so cute! What's your name and what are you really?"

"I'm Gir!" the robot smiled, hugging her.

"That's Zim's robot dog thing," Dib explained.

"Gir! Get away from the filthy human!" Zim commanded.

"But she smells like pudding!" protested the disguised robot.

"Better do what your master says," Lil smiled, placing Gir on the ground.

"Aww," Gir said disappointed.

"Anyway, I gotta go," Lil waved. "I need to make dinner for my little sis. See ya around, I hope."

"I need to go home too," Tak said. "See you soon."

After the two girls were almost out of sight, Zim grabbed Gir's leash and began to follow them.

"Where are you going?" Dib caught up with the alien.

"Tak is showing us her base," Zim said simply. "Now hurry up."


End file.
